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Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat
''' Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat '''is a 1941 Cartune cartoon. Summary Lazy black folks in Lazy Town (Pop. 123½) are napping and attracting flies. They are so lethargic they even fight in slow motion. Then a riverboat arrives with a red hot mama on board and she quickly has everyone moving to a Harlem boogie beat, dancing, scrubbing clothes, and eating watermelon. As the boogie-woogie comes to a close, Mammy hoists her skirt. Her big bottom reads "The End". Plot Lazytown (population 123½) is a sleepy Southern burg along the banks of the Mississippi that's home to some outrageously stereotyped blacks. Everyone is lazy here- even the fish! The all-black townspeople nap and attract flies. They fall asleep in the middle of fistfights, and the dogs don't have the energy to chase the cats. A riverboat pulls up at the dock, and a jazzy young lady from Harlem steps off. She starts looking around Lazytown. Needless to say, the men come to life. The sexy young lady teaches the locals about hot rhythm, singing the swinging title tune. The black mamas are scrubbing their kids, and they get into the swing of it. A washerwoman becomes confused when she hears the singer, and her scrubbing becomes frantic. A boy bites into a huge slice of watermelon. A number of musicians take up the melody, and an old man with a cane becomes activated by the music. Soon, everyone's moving to a Harlem boogie beat, dancing, scrubbing clothes and eating watermelon. The town has come to life, and swings so much that even the underwear climbs out of the washtub to dance. The ship's captain sounds the whistle and yells "All aboard!" to indicate that the ship is about to depart. The pretty lady gets back on the boat, leaving Lazytown a jumping place. Trivia Written by Don Raye in 1940, the title tune was a hit for the Andrews Sisters. Fell into the public domain in 1969. One scene was excerpted in the finale of Spike Lee's feature film "Bamboozled." This cartoon has been withheld from distribution by Universal since 1949 due to its portrayal of African-Americans. The decision was made after a strong objection was raised by the NAACP upon the short's reissue in 1948. The entire episode was a shock to Lantz who prided himself on avoiding problems with the censors. He repeatedly stated that his cartoons were never meant to offend anyone. After the 1948 decision, Lantz made a major effort to make sure that offensive caricatures of any racial or ethnic group would never appear in his cartoons again. He also personally made sure that Scrub Me Mama would never be distributed on television. Category:Cartoons Category:Cartune Cartoons Category:1941 cartoons Category:Walter Lantz Productions Cartoons Category:Cartoons with music by Darrell Calker Category:Cartoons produced by Walter Lantz Category:Universal Cartoons Category:Cartoons directed by Alex Lovy Category:Cartoons directed by Walter Lantz Category:Cartoons animated by Laverne Harding Category:Cartoons animated by Frank Tipper Category:Cartoons animated by Alex Lovy Category:Cartoons written by Ben Hardaway